Our Heavenly Father from the Gospel of Matthew

Today I am commenting on the term "Father" as we find it in the Gospel of Matthew:

I was blessed to have a Godly, gentle, diligent father, who, along with my mother, loved me and my sister and raised us to be good and productive citizens. I know this is not always the case with fathers; we know that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, and not every father is a good father. In my case, however, I am blessed to be my father’s son.

To illustrate this, let me relate an event from many years ago when I was interviewing with a church’s pastor search committee. The committee chairman, who later became my first deacon chairman at that church, had worked for the same company as my dad. They were in different divisions, and they didn’t know each other well, but the committee chair knew my dad by reputation. 

When a committee member asked about my personality and moral character, the chairman replied, “I don’t know him, but if he is anything like his father, he will be a good man.” My eyes always well up with tears when I remember that!

I was blessed to have a wonderful earthly father, which, as I said, many people do not. The truth is, however, we all can have a wonderful Heavenly Father, who is greater than any human father and who Ephesians 4:20 says is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

What are some things we can know about God as our Heavenly Father? Actually, the Gospel of Matthew teaches us quite a lot:

A Blessing Father:

Matthew 5:45 tells us, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

When I was deployed to Iraq and I went out with our commander to visit our companies which were scattered across Baghdad, the sergeant in charge of his security detail always had me ride with him in the first vehicle in our convoy. I suppose he saw me as a good luck charm, but I always reminded Him that God was fair to all people. It is true we never hit an IED, but neither did any of our other vehicles either.

In this passage Matthew reminds us that people are in the center of God’s heart, and He loves to bless us all and that even those who reject Him can enjoy the blessings of this world which He created for all of us to enjoy.

A Personal Father:

In Matthew 6:9-13, we read about how Jesus taught us to pray to our Heavenly Father:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done,

    on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

This prayer, which we call the Lord’s Prayer, actually teaches many important things about God Our Heavenly Father. Things like:

He wants us to talk with Him! 

God knows all our needs and wants before we pray to Him, yet He still wants to fellowship with us through prayer.

He wants us to honor Him!

God is wonderful and powerful, loving and kind, just and benevolent and He always does the right thing. He deserves our praise!

He wants us to obey Him!

God is a father who really does know what’s best. When we allow Him to rule our lives and our hearts, it blesses Him, and it blesses us also. 

He wants to give us good things!

God is good and He only gives us good things. Matthew 7:9-11 says, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

He forgives us!

As I said above, we all have sinned, fathers and children alike, and we all need God’s forgiveness. It is a wonderful thing that God offers that forgiveness to all through the sacrifice of His Only, Uniquely Begotten Son, who died and rose again, and who ascended into heaven and sits at God’s right hand and who intercedes for us, the Children of God.

He helps us escape temptation!

As Paul taught the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

It is amazing how much that short prayer that is so familiar to us can teach us about God our Father, but the Gospel of Matthew has even more to tell us:

A Protective Father:

Matthew 10:29-31 tells us that God watches over His children. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

A Father Who Is Reflected in His Son:

Matthew also tells how we can know the character qualities of God. We can know what our Father is like by looking at the Son: 

Matthew 11:27 says, “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

In His Gospel, John expresses this truth in this way in John 14:7, “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

A Saving Father:

Finally, in Matthew 18:12-14, we learn that the Father God wants none of His children to perish: 

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.”

Conclusion:

In conclusion, it is easy see from just this one book of the Bible that our God is a wonderful Father. He is great and mighty and loving, and He is more excellent than any human father could ever be. What does this mean for us, personally?

First, we need to be sure we are His children. Jesus offers us salvation and adoption into the family of God. We need to accept that offer and allow God to save us and make us His own.

Second, if we are a father or a mother, we need to imitate God as we raise and love our children. We will never be perfect parents, but we can be more like our own Heavenly Father if we submit our stubborn wills to His.

Finally, no matter who our earthly father is, no matter how good or how bad, he may be, we all have a Father in Heaven that watches over us and cares for us. Not only that, but He also has the strength and will to act for our good and our blessing.

So, let us be of good cheer, and rejoice because of the love and care of our Heavenly Father!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt